What the Papers Say, June 11, 2013

Kommersant

1. Maria Luiza Tirmaste et al. report headlined "Mikhail Prokhorov turns to glorious past" says that former Moscow mayor Yury Luzhkov will support Mikhail Prokhorov's Civil Platform party in the upcoming mayoral election. The party will nominate its candidate on June 14; pp 1-2 (973 words).

2. Ivan Safronov article headlined "Vladimir Putin criticizes law-enforcement agencies" says President Vladimir Putin has criticized the Defense, Interior and Emergencies ministries for formalities in their work on five-year plans. The president set new tasks for the ministers; pp 1, 3 (631 words).

3. Dmitry Butrin et al. report "Large purchases being discussed in Kremlin" says the government is considering the possibility of investing money from the National Welfare Fund and the Russian Pension Fund in transport, energy and public utilities sector to give a boost to the country's economy; pp 1, 6 (1,045 words).

5. Natalya Korchenkova article headlined "Politics not expected from All-Russia People's Front" says recent public opinion polls have shown that respondents do not want the All-Russia People's Front movement to turn into a political party, they want it to help them solve their social problems; p 2 (628 words).

6. Maxim Ivanov report "Constitutional Court faces itself" says that the Constitutional Court will define whose rulings Russian courts should go by when revising cases: those of the European Court of Human Rights or the Russian Constitutional Court; p 2 (600 words).

7. Yuri Syun article headlined "British asylum not recognized in Spain" says that Ilya Khaykin, Russian banker who has received political asylum in the UK, has been extradited to Russia from Spain where he spent holidays. The banker is suspected of organizing a criminal group to illegally seize land in Moscow region; p 4 (486 words).

8. Sergei Mashkin report "Special order comes to Oboronservis" looks at the first verdicts passed to those involved in fraud with the Defense Ministry's property as part of the Oboronservis case; p 4 (850 words).

10. Article by political analyst Dmitry Oreshkin in opinion column headlined "Price of issue" looks at reasons for political instability in Turkey and says that the country's prime minister is likely to keep power; however, the country will face stagnation; p 8 (356 words).

11. Galina Dudina et al. report headlined "Agent for non-extradition" says Russia may consider the possibility of granting political asylum to a former CIA employee who has leaked details of U.S. intelligence agencies monitoring people's phone calls and other communications; p 8 (714 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Alexandra Samarina and Ivan Rodin article headlined "They begin with governors" says Russian regional heads will take part in a seminar organized by the Kremlin and Sberbank in Moscow region to be held after the All-Russia People's Front congress; pp 1-2 (1,044 words).

2. Anastasia Bashkatova article headlined "Millionaire vice-chancellors outstrip president and prime minister with their revenues" looks at income declarations by heads of Russian universities. Some of them have made much more money than the head of the state; pp 1, 4 (1,082 words).

3. Ivan Rodin article headlined "Tricky issues of Russian history found" says experts are discussing problems with writing a single schoolbook on history. The concept of the new book has been discussed at a meeting in the State Duma; pp 1, 3 (735 words).

4. Alexei Gorbachev article headlined "People involved in Bolotnaya case to be supported with march" says the opposition plans to stage a march in Moscow on June 12 to support the people prosecuted as part of the May 6 disturbances case; pp 1, 3 (603 words).

6. Yury Panyev article headlined "Switzerland not country for refugees" says residents of Switzerland have backed amendments to the country's law making it even harder for a foreigner to get political asylum in the country; pp 1, 7 (604 words).

7. Editorial headlined "Russia intends to invest billions of rubles into CIS" comments on Moscow's plans to increase financing of its soft power policy in the CIS states. Russia plans to popularize the Russian language and culture abroad; p 2 (526 words).

8. Sergei Nikanorov report "H-hour for deputies" says that the State Duma will debate in the second reading the bill banning the promotion of homosexuality among children today; p 3 (1,100 words).

9. Milrad Fatullayev article headlined "Kremlin returns to Dagestan for sake of Olympics" comments on the Kremlin's campaign to curb corruption and crime in Dagestan as part of the preparation for the Sochi Olympics; p 5 (1,834 words).

9. Sergei Dementyev report "Yunus-bek Yevkurov offered to resign" says that the organizers of the Ingush congress in Moscow seek resignation of the head of Ingushetia, Yunus-bek Yevkurov; p 5 (1,200 words).

10. Darya Tsilyurik article headlined "Riot at American waxworks" says the former CIA employee, who has leaked details of U.S. intelligence agencies monitoring people's phone calls, has made his name public. He is staying in Hong Kong and seeks political asylum in a country that values freedom of speech. Article features a Russian political analyst's comment; p 7 (585 words).

3. Another editorial headlined "I am from Viktor Petrovich" criticizes new regulations for hiring personnel of the Federal Drug Control Service, as only the ones with reference letters from people already working in the service can get a position there; p 6 (295 words).

4. Olga Proskurnina interview with Sergei Guriev, Russian economic expert who has left the country, speaking on his decision to emigrate and problems with the Investigations Committee; pp 8-9 (2,913 words).

5. Ksenia Boletskaya article headlined "Channel One TV first again" says according to the TV season results, Channel One has again become the most popular TV channel in Russia; p 18 (658 words).

6. Anastasia Kornya report "Main court" says that the Constitutional Court today will define whose rulings are more important: its own or those of the European Court of Human Rights; p 2 (550 words).

7. Maxim Glikin report "Opinion about Surkov: About zero" says that according to a Levada Center poll, most respondents believe that former Deputy Prime Minister Vladislav Surkov has had to resign from the government. He did not have a great influence on political decision-making, they believe; p 3 (550 words).

8. Alexei Levinson report "Hardly more frightening than war" says that according to a Levada Center poll, the number of people concerned about the lawlessness of the authorities exceeds by 1.5 times the number of those who do not care about it; p 7 (700 words).

Izvestia

1. Alexei Pestov and Denis Telmanov article headlined "Serdyukov used to pay millions in bonuses to Vasilyeva and his deputies" says the Audit Chamber has found out that former Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov used to pay large bonuses to his civilian deputies, including the head of the property department, Yevgenia Vasilyeva; pp 1, 4 (823 words).

2. Vladimir Zykov article headlined "Officials threatened with up to 20 years in prison for sending documents via gmail" says a State Duma member has come up with an initiative to ban Russian officials from using foreign e-mail servers when sending official documents and other information concerning Russian state secrets; pp 1, 4 (710 words).

3. Yevgeny Safronov article headlined "Investigations Committee to take journalists under special protection" says the Russian Investigations Committee has developed a concept to protect journalists. Every crime committed against a journalist will be under special control; pp 1-2 (848 words).

4. Svetlana Subbotina article headlined "Govorukhin to become one of co-chairmen of All-Russia People's Front" outlines the leadership structure of the All-Russia People's Front movement to be adopted at the congress which opens on 11 June; pp 1, 4 (562 words).

5. Alexei Mikhaylov article headlined "Airborne forces order landing Pantsir" says the Tula-based KBP Instrument-Building Design Bureau is developing a new version of the missile defense system Pantsir-S1 to be used by airborne forces; p 5 (600 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Susanna Alperina interview "From Russia with love" with Margarita Simonyan, head of the Russia Today TV channel, speaking on the work of the channel and its development plans; pp 1, 17 (1,282 words).

4. Viktor Feshshcenko article headlined "Password under jumper" says that Edward Snowden, who has leaked information on U.S. intelligence agencies monitoring people's phone calls and other communication, does not consider himself to be a hero; p 8 (685 words).

5. Vladislav Kulikov article headlined "Do not spend extra" says that in accordance with a new law, senior FSB officers will have to report on purchases that cost more than their three monthly salaries; p 9 (589 words).

6. Yury Medvedev report "What was in the beginning" says that professors from the Moscow Engineering and Physics Institute (MIFI) have demanded that the theology faculty in their institute be closed down; p 7 (700 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Tatyana Zamakhina article headlined "Putin asks 'foreign agents' for compromising material" says that international NGOs will now be able to get involved in the Russian electoral process as they will be able to check information on foreign assets of candidates taking part in elections of all levels; pp 1, 3 (300 words).

2. Marina Ozerova article headlined "Parade of rubber laws" details the bill on ban on homosexuality propaganda to be passed by the State Duma; pp 1-2 (716 words).

4. Mikhail Zubov report "Prokhorov and Luzhkov have joint plans for summer" says that former Moscow mayor Yury Luzhkov may head the election headquarters of businessman Mikhail Prokhorov who plans to stand in the Moscow mayoral election in September; p 2 (350 words).

RBC Daily

1. Yulia Yakovleva and Alexander Litoy article headlined "Second tour intrigue" looks at the candidates who will run for Moscow mayorship in September; pp1-2 (500 words).

2. Olesya Elkova and Sergei Kolobkov article headlined "Russian sky to be locked" says that foreign airlines doubt whether they will able to fulfill the provisions of the Transport Ministry's new decree, which envisage that all foreign passenger carriers should disclose the passengers' personal data. Twenty days are left until the decree comes into force; p 1 (550 words).

3. Ivan Petrov article headlined "Defense Ministry 'disappointed'" says that starting from 2014, Russian military men will not have to queue for flats anymore as they will receive money for the purchase of housing instead; p 2 (600 words).

4. Yulia Sinyaeva article headlined "What they serve terms for in Russia" sums up the results of one year's work of Russian business ombudsman Boris Titov; p 3 (600 words).

Noviye Izvestia

1. Yulia Savina article headlined "Everybody has their own holiday" says that on 12 June, which is a public holiday known as the Day of Russia, opposition will hold a rally, while President Putin's supporters will gather at the congress of the All-Russia People's Front; p 2 (650 words).

Moskovskye Novosti

Komsomolskaya Pravda

1. Kristina Desyatova article headlined "Bailiff accused of sexual harassment towards teenager resigns" says that deputy head of the Moscow Region Courts Bailiff Service Federal Directorate Andrei Kaminov had to resign after he was videotaped during a meeting with a 14-year-old boy; p 11 (300 words).

2. Darya Aslamova article headlined "Turkish Taksim [Square] looks like Russian Bolotnaya [Square], but way more angry" features an extensive report on the latest developments in Turkey, saying that the majority of Turks still support Prime Minister Erdogan; pp 12-13 (1,500 words).

Trud

1. Sergei Frolov article headlined "Front without front-line" says that the objectives of the newly set up All-Russia People's Front remain rather unclear; however, its first congress is considered a big political event; p 2 (700 words).

Krasnaya Zvezda

1. Anna Potekhina interview with the new head of the Plesetsk cosmodrome, Col Nikolay Nestechuk; pp 1-2 (1,000 words).